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Democratic point man on filibuster reform says he has 51 votes for new rules

“The crucial thing for all of you to know is Harry Reid’s got 51 votes to do the Constitutional option at the beginning of the Congress,” Udall said. “My sense is if he can’t get agreement on the other side, then he’s going to go forward.”

Changing rules with a simple majority vote is considered so controversial it is sometimes called the nuclear option. Democrats backing the maneuver have described it as the “Constitutional option.”

A bipartisan group of senators including Senate Rules Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the ranking Republican member of the Rules panel, are meanwhile working on a bipartisan compromise to change filibuster rules under regular order, which requires 67 votes.

Blowback

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Democrats backing the maneuver have described it as the “Constitutional option.”

Newspeak. Beware of Democrats citing the Constitution.

A bipartisan group of senators including Senate Rules Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the ranking Republican member of the Rules panel, are meanwhile working on a bipartisan compromise to change filibuster rules under regular order, which requires 67 votes.

It is an all or nothing game. In most logical thinking, you one do something that makes your side win now but then when the time come would you want the other side to do the same thing when they get power. They are far from making sure that the other side does not get power, still just one election away.

Would you switch a game ball to a lighter ball and know that the other team will get to use the same game ball when it is their term. Well they would and then say you are cheating when it is your turn with the same game ball.

Umm.. Let’s be vindictive when we take over in 2016… As in gut the Ds precious toys.

Illinidiva on December 29, 2012 at 2:33 PM

Mandate that tax-exempt foundations have to, after the deaths of their founders, (would be nice)retroactive to the deaths of the founders, spend a higher percentage of their money, such that these foundations will disappear within a decade or two of their foundation. Foundations like the Kellogg and Ford Foundations, hijacked from their original purpose to fund Leftist causes, will go away.

Be sure the House, the Senate, AND the White House are enjoined from employing former media employees for a period of five years after the media employee leaves the media company. We can do a lot of this right now by setting such a rule in the House. It will close the revolving door between Democrat politics and the media to where journalists will be forced to do their jobs, rather than looking forward to a press office gig.

Make enforcement of intellectual property law contingent on Hollywood’s, the music industry’s, and Silicon Valley’s non-involvement in politics.

If the student loan bubble doesn’t deflate fast enough, help it along. Universities have invested in buildings and resources that are harder to liquidate than employees. Cut their funding, and they will have to make the radical Boomers retire and close useless degree departments.

Support school voucher programs across the country, and get rid of the Department of Education.

And this is why the 17th needs to be repealed. The Senate was not designed to be just another version of the House where simple majority runs the show.

But you know what, I’m all for this. After the 2010 Republicans took over numerous state legislatures and hand their hand in drawing up the new districts for the next 10 years.

2014 will not be pretty for Democrats in the Senate is the economy and unemployment remain stagnant. And with Obama still in office with the same horrible policies being shoved down our throats, I don’t expect the economy to improve any. If anything, I expect it to get worse.

So go ahead and change the rules. I just hope Harry is still in office when Republicans take over the Senate. I want to see what he’ll have to say about the minority being completely shut out of the process.